Previously Funded UND CONNECT Projects

Emily Midkiff, Assistant Professor of Teaching & Learning

Melissa Gjellstad, Professor of Languages & Global Studies

• Project Description: The Norwegian Community Connections project seeks to connect existing members of the Gyda Varden lodge, a Norwegian heritage group with over 100 years of local history, with the community's Pre-K children, parents, and young adults through a series of story time events and board game events. 
• Community Partner: Gyda Varden Lodge, Sons of Norway
• Funds awarded: Fall 2025
• Project Completed: June 2026

Chelsea Hughes, Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work

• Project Description: RedRover Readers creates a kinder world for people and animals. This program invites certified volunteers to foster empathy and kindness in children aged 5 to 11 through storytelling. Thanks to UND Connect and support from RedRover, RedRover Readers is being piloted at the Grand Forks Public LIbrary and beyond. 
• Community Partner: Grand Forks Public
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2025
• Project Completed: May 2026

Moones Alamooti, Assistant Professor of Energy & Petroleum Engineering

Andreas Michael, Assistant Professor of Energy & Petroleum Engineering

• Project Description: We propose a two-day Energy Education Workshop that addresses a critical workforce development need in western North Dakota (ND): the lack of structured pathways connecting Williston-area high-school students to energy-sector careers. Despite ND's position as a leading energy producer, local students have limited exposure to the technical skills and career opportunities available in their own community, contributing to workforce shortages and talent flight from the region. 
• Community Partner: Williston Basin CTE Center, Williston HIgh School
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2025
• Project Completed: May 2026

Emily Gibbens-Buteau, Assistant Professor of Communication

• Project Description: This project addresses the decline of journalism and lack of media education in rural North Dakota by partnering with the ND Newspaper Association to create a digital storytelling toolkit. The toolkit will include lessons for educators to use in classes or camps. We will pilot it with TRIO Upward Bound. 
• Community Partner: North Dakota Newspaper Association
• Funds awarded: Fall 2025
• Project Completed:

Yue Jing, Assistant Professor of Geography & Geographic Information Science

• Project Description: This project will help the Grand Forks community understand how cold weather affects public transit users and identify ways to make winter travel safer, more comfortable, and more accessible for everyone.
• Community Partner: Cities Area Transit, Grand Forks- East Grand Forks Metropolitan Planning Organization
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2025
• Project Completed: 

Ethan Dahl, Associate Professor of Education, Health & Behavior

Tiffany Russell, Assistant Professor of Psychology

• Project Description: Partnering with the Grand Forks chapter of PFLAG, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, Dahl, Russell and their students will create evidence-based resource toolkits and trainings for business owners focused on creating inclusive and welcoming environments for sexual and gender minorities in North Dakota communities.
• Community Partner: Grand Forks Chapter of PFLAG
• Funds Awarded: Spring 2024
• Project Completed: June 2025

Amanda Haage, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences

• Project Description: Create 3D-printed materials for visually impaired students in Anatomy and Physiology courses in collaboration with North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind in Grand Forks.
• Community Partner: North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind
• Funds Awarded: Spring 2024

Joshua Hunter, Associate Professor of Education, Health & Behavior

• Project Description: In partnership with the Blue Zones Project, the city of Grand Forks and its Town Square Farmers Market, Hunter seeks to develop educational programming specific to youth on local food production, awareness of healthy eating and local food pathways/resources.
• Community Partner: Town Square Farmer's Market, Blue Zones Project, and GRO.UND
• Funds Awarded: Spring 2024
• Project Completed: December 2024

Soojung Kim, Associate Professor of Communication

• Project Description: Expand Grand Forks Public Library’s digital radon detector lending program to the Fargo Public Library and provide her students with an experiential learning opportunity in the process.
• Community Partner: Fargo Public Library
• Funds Awarded: Spring 2024
• Project Completed: March 2025

Merie Kirby, Teaching Associate Professor of Honors

• Project Description: Research and create materials in collaboration with the High Plains Fair Housing Center that would be used for education at the community, state and national levels bringing visibility to Native American fair housing issues.
• Community Partner: High Plains Fair Housing Center
• Funds Awarded: Spring 2024
• Project Completed: June 2025

Joonghwa Lee, Associate Professor of Communication

• Project Description: For UND’s 2025 Digital Storytelling Summit – a weeklong program that brings high school students to UND to learn about journalism and multimedia storytelling – Lee will fund UND student interns to help facilitate activities.
• Community Partners: High school students from various North Dakota communities 
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: June 2025

Harry Liu, Assistant Professor of Education, Health & Behavior

Tanis Walch, Professor of Education, Health & Behavior

• Project Description: Liu and Walch plan to host “Inclusive Moves,” an adaptive pickleball-based intervention program for enhancing motor skills, physical activity and social interactions among 8- to 12-year-old children with physical and developmental disabilities.
• Community Partners: Grand Forks School District Special Education, Grand Forks Park District, and the North Dakota State Council on Developmental Disabilities
• Funds Awarded: Spring 2024
• Project Completed: September 2025

Adam Matz, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

• Project Description: Conduct a study with the Community Violence Intervention Center to understand the outcomes of the Grand Forks Domestic Violence Court.
• Community Partners: Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) and Grand Forks Domestic Violence Court
• Funds Awarded: Spring 2024
• Project completed: March 2025

Nariaki Sugiura, Associate Professor of Music

Ling Lo, Teaching Assistant Professor of Music

Whitney Berry, Teaching Associate Professor of Music

• Project Description: The trio of music professors will create a series of online piano lessons and basic music theory classes for students at Turtle Mountain Community College in Belcourt, N.D.
• Community Partners: Turtle Mountain Tribal College
• Funds Awarded: Spring 2024
• Project Completed: December 2024

Daniel Bartholomay, Assistant Professor of Sociology

• Project Description: Partnering with the F5 Project in Fargo, Bartholomay’s project aims to raise awareness and influence policies to support transitional housing and recovery programs in North Dakota. “Voices of the Home” will give people residing in transitional housing, including those formerly incarcerated or recovering from addiction, the opportunity to use photographs and narratives to document their reintegration experiences.
• Community Partner: F5 Project (Fargo)
• Funds Awarded:
• Project Completed: Ongoing

Christie Cole, Assistant Professor of Languages

Elizabeth Suazo-Flores, Assistant Professor of Teaching & Leadership

• Project Description: Monthly Spanish Storytime at the Grand Forks Public Library will bring UND students and members of the Grand Forks Latinx community together. The goal is to provide experiential learning opportunities for students while also providing space for Spanish-speaking residents to value and celebrate the language.
• Community Partner: Grand Forks Public Library
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: May 2025

Lavinia Iancu, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

• Project Description:The Forensic Science Bootcamp at Turtle River State Park, organized alongside the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, will provide hands-on training and certification in crime scene investigation. The program will enhance students’ career prospects and strengthen community safety by preparing well-trained forensic professionals.
• Community Partner: North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: May 2025

Joonghwa Lee, Associate Professor of Communication

• Project Description: Archive unique stories of new Americans in North Dakota and showcase their journeys toward naturalization through photo and video exhibitions during the week of Constitution Day 2025, to welcome them to local and state communities.
• Community Partner: City of Grand Forks
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: August 2025

Ling Lo, Teaching Assistant Professor of Music

• Project Description: Creating the Sensory Family Concert Series to create concert environments at UND which welcome people from diverse backgrounds and with varied abilities.
• Community Partner: LISTEN CENTER (Grand Forks)
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: April 2025

Julie Robinson, Assistant Professor of Teaching & Leadership

Renuka de Silva, Assistant Professor of Teaching & Leadership

• Project Description: Dakota Ribbon shirts and skirts are worn during important gatherings and events to signify resilience and celebrate cultural identity. In this project, students at Tate Topa Tribal School in Fort Totten, N.D., will create their own ribbon skirts and shirts that they can wear for community events. The goal is to foster cultural identity, knowledge and pride.
• Community Partner: Tate Topa Tribal School (Fort Totten)
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: May 2025

Akorede Teriba, Assistant Professor of Education, Health & Behavioral Studies

• Project Description: Develop a peer support training program to provide teachers with an understanding of burnout and what contributes to it. Through a workshop, teachers will be equipped to support one another and decrease the likelihood of experiencing burnout.
• Community Partner: Grand Forks Public Schools
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: August 2025

Daile Zhang, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences

• Project Description: Create an education and awareness program to reduce lightning-related risks in Grand Forks through a partnership with the local National Weather Service station. The program includes public awareness events, educational material development, media engagement and implementation of safety measures.
• Community Partner: National Weather Service (Grand Forks)
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: July 2025

Jessica Zorn, Faculty Resident of Physical Therapy

• Project Description: In collaboration with the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences, College of Education & Human Development, the North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind and the UND Swing Club, Zorn is conducting a study to evaluate the effectiveness of dance-based intervention to enhance motor skills, physical activity and social/emotional well-being in individuals with visual impairment.
• Community Partner: North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind
• Funds Awarded: Fall 2024
• Project Completed: August 2025